A few weeks ago, I
attended the Day of Action against the Stupak Amendment with my organization,
the Pro-Choice Public Education Project (PEP). We rode on a bus organized by
the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), with colleagues
I already knew, Twitter friends whose faces were now connected to their online
personas, and allies fighting for immigration rights. The atmosphere that
morning was intoxicating, even at an un-godly six oíclock. As is customary
within my circle of activist peeps, some great conversation incurred on the
bus, mentally preparing me for the challenges I would face during the day. I
was ready to rally and start some dramaÖafter a nap and food at the rest stop.

Once in Washington, DC,
the day really began. It was to be a day of rallying, lobbying and networking
with folks in the Reproductive Justice and Feminist movements. My colleagues
and I were glued to our Blackberrys tweeting and re-tweeting the thoughts and
happenings of that afternoon.
There was much to be said.

We were led to the
Russell Senate Office Room for the rally. Well, to watch the rally from an
overflow room. Iíll start by saying that itís pretty awesome that so many of us
showed up that an overflow room had to be made. But I didnít travel 4 hours
from NYC at six in the morning to sit in an overflow room. As upset as I was to
not physically be at the rally, there were other issues with the overflow room
that were really irksome. We were surrounded by men and women who traveled with
us on NLIRHís bus that did not speak English, and yet there was no interpreter
in sight. Uh, BIG problem. They came to show their support, but how could they
when they couldnít understand what was going on? This was an example of
inexcusably poor organizing.

As I watched the rally
on TV, I realized that I could count the number of woman of color I saw on the
screen on my hands. Meanwhile I sat in an overflow room full of women Ė and men
Ė of color. As a young woman of color whoís seen this more times that I ever
wanted to, I was not surprised. But if I hadnít been upset already, I
definitely was at that point. I will never feel comfortable saying that I think
this was intentionally done, but the fact that only my colleagues and I could
whisper about it in a corner infuriated me. If because of timing or poor
organizing, it so happened that we were racially segregated, fine, but say so.
Acknowledge that there werenít enough black or brown faces in that rally when
there were plenty in the overflow room, and apologize.

A word on the presence
of young people: great job getting them to stand there with their pink shirts
and handmade signs; disaster getting their voices heard. If no one else
noticed, let me be the first to tell you that there was ONE young woman under
the age of 25 that spoke at the rally. Her task: to list the colleges and
universities the young people present at the rally represented. Really? You
donít want to talk about how Stupak utterly screws young women? Young women of
color? Low-income young women? Fine, IíLL do it:

The Stupak Amendment
puts young women, specifically young women of color and low-income young women,
at a serious risk. It tells these young women not only that they have no
control over their bodies, but that they have no reproductive choices. Because
as we all know, Stupak will not change the lack of comprehensive sex education
in the U.S.; it will not change young womenís inability to access contraception
or reproductive services, even when they do choose to parent. No, it only
continues to exacerbate the inequities young women must face when trying to
care for themselves, their partners, and their families.

Being a young,
Nuyorican in the RJ movement has at the very least given me the advantage over
my peers ofseeing how few people address our issues
and needs. Even those who claim to,
fail to prove to me that they do. I can say that with the allies I do have,
that will change, and the RJ movement will be an inclusive space for young
people.

Now to the Feminist
movement: bleh. On the Day of Action, I attended the Pro-Choice Youth Space
with young people from various organizations. PEP lent support to the
event, so I had an opportunity to talk about PEP and what we do along with
other folks who represented their organizations. It was great that this space
even existed, and Iím truly thankful it did, but that didn't change my
discomfort with the dynamics in the room.

It was another
situation in which the number of young woman of color was
disproportionate to
the number of white young women. Itís something that Iím usually good
at
dealing with when I at least feel that the conversations taking place
are
relevant to me, my work, and my background as an activist. This wasnít
the
case. Simply put, thereís no way I can feel comfortable putting my two
cents
into a conversation dominated by young, white, college aged/educated,
feminist women. Really, we donít see eye to eye. Iím brown, from the
Lower East Side of
NYC, attend a community college because my parents were too broke to
send me to
a university, and younger than most.

Iím 19 years old and
have been working with PEP for the past 2+
years. At 19, and with the experiences I have, I already feel like I canít
fully represent the young people I work for. My greatest desire is to see young
women under 18 dominate both the RJ and Feminist movements. That said, I feel
much more accepted as a young women of color in the RJ movement than I ever
have around other feminists. I am an RJ activist. And until feminism is an
inclusive movement Ė of age, race, class, sexual orientation, and education Ė I
will only be an RJ activist.

Iím tired from writing
this, just as I was exhausted by the Day of Action. Iím proud that my movement
affected change, and that by being there I was a part of the change. But I
continue to be dismayed by the lack of acceptance of young women of color, in
the RJ movement, in the feminist movement, and among sisters. Someone please
tell me they feel me.